The Millers

By Nicholas Clark

The Millers, were just another family among the tens of thousands of families living in Chicago for a livelihood. Until a new neighbor moved in. That’s when the murders began.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Happy Gazelle PLT
• Release date: Feb 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386662723

Nicholas Clark

Nicholas Clark is an author for young adult fiction and never quite grew out of science fiction and action books. He aims to write entertaining stories and spends his time binge watching TV series and movies.

Book preview

Prologue

CHICAGO. The home of Michael Jordan, the Chicago Bulls and the place where one could get probably the best hot dog in the whole world. The city of Chicago always had something in it for everyone. Be it the avid culture it possessed which attracted people from around the globe or its intense semi-Indian history that made people wonder, the city always had people coming over to see its beauty. As Sinatra said And each time I roam, Chicago is calling me home, Chicago is why I just grin like a clown- It’s my kinda town.

There also exists a dark side to this city. In the 1920s, Chicago was probably the best place for a young entrepreneur to enter the underworld. The dim lit streets of Chicago and the unmatched level of the organized crime is still portrayed in the Hollywood movies even after a century. Although it came a long way from the gang-related activities, one can still find some active gangs in Southside and Chinatown.

Regardless of this, scores of people dwell in the Windy City, in its numerous suburbs spread across the city. Lincoln Square was one such suburb, located in north-west Chicago which was home to roughly 50,000 people making it one of the most densely populated localities of Chicago. The houses are mostly multistoried and are crammed near to one another. The residents are mainly from the working class consisting of nuclear families.

The general tone of the neighborhood is busy and one can frequently spot the citizens rush to and fro trying to coordinate their work timings. The nights of this suburb are entirely different as compared to the busy and hectic schedule of the daytime. As the evenings approached, the urgency of work among its residents mellows down into a casual approach and the nightlife begins in full swing. On a broader level, Lincoln Square is probably an appropriate location for a workaholic cum party animal as it possesses a culmination of both the entities in an equal proportion.

The Millers, were just another family among the tens of thousands of families living in Chicago for a livelihood. Jake Miller lived with his wife Lily and their two children- Ryan and Rachel. Ryan, the older one of the two was in high school while Rachel was in middle school. They lived on the third floor in the McLaren’s building which was right across the Lincoln Central Park.

The Millers had ancestral linkages to Texas, from where Jake’s grandfather had migrated long ago in search of work. Jake had been living in Chicago since his birth and knew all about the city and its characteristics. Jake and Lily moved to Lincoln Square post their marriage and bought the house in McLaren’s. Jake worked as a Systems Engineer at ProTech Solutions. Jake can be termed as one of those misplaced people who had accidentally been allocated such a neighborhood. Lily on the other hand was a poised homemaker.

Chapter 1

It was a usual Monday morning. The streets were filled with people rushing to work and parents dragging their kids towards the honking school buses. The Millers’ residence was no different from any other household on a typical Monday morning. Mrs. Miller was in the kitchen making scrambled eggs. Jake Miller sat on the couch engrossed deeply into the newspaper while mumbling curses at the government as he flipped through the pages.

Jake was, what one could call, a pessimist, and especially when it comes to politics. He believed that everything that is wrong with the city is due to the inefficiency of the government and its inability to implement the so called